Protecting the paint on the car's hood

[strader327]

Hey everyone, I was wondering, during the hot summer months I imagine the area of a car's finish that takes the most abuse as far as heat and UV damage is the car's hood.

The reason I think this is because unlike other areas of the car like the sides, the trunk, the rear bumper or even the roof is the hood is not only getting heat from the sun on hot days it is also getting heat from below by the car's hot engine.

So because of that, is it normally best or at the very least ok to apply a thicker coat of wax to the hood or if applying thin coats, apply an extra coat just to the hood? Or is it best to give the entire car the same coats of wax?

Just wondering, from what I can envision a thicker coat (or a two thin coats or even three coats to the hood if you prefer to give your entire car two coats of wax) would indeed give that sensitive area more protection.

But either way, let me know your takes on it. I"ll be taking notes. Thanks guys!

[Murr1525]

No, a thicker coat of wax will mean more excess, not more left behind.

If you were thinking the hood may dry out first, you would want to use a pure polish, or cleaner/polish with lots of oils before waxing.

[ChevyNick]

Murr said it best.

[Blueline]

The paint is aleady dry (cured) from the factory, so it doesn't dry out. There is nothing, short of parking out of the sun, that will protect the hood. Heat is heat, and all the wax, currently on the market, is not going to protect a car from "heat".

[Michael Stoops]

Murr did say it well, but there's another thing to consider: while wax in and of itself won't protect from heat, heat from the engine is coming from below the paint, not above it, and we've seen factory paint check on the hood due to this heat on some cars. One car in particular had very bad checking throughout the hood, except that you could see sort of a large "X" pattern in the paint, almost from corner to corner, where there was little to no checking. When the hood was opened you could see the cross bracing under the hood, and it coincided perfectly with the non-checked area in the paint. That area, due to the cross bracing, was better insulated from the heat of the engine bay. And, no, there was liner or pad on this hood.

[strader327]

Thanks everyone!

[DAC17]

This may seem a little anal but, if you want to avoid this, open the hood for a few minutes after driving the car and let the heat vent out. Only works when you're home or in a safe parking place, but may help a little.

[mis3]

I read that some people even wax the underside of the hood.

I never did and don't know if there is any benefit.

[strader327]

Well I do that sometimes, but I don't use liquid/paste wax. If and when I do that I normally use spray liquid detailer or liquid spray wax.